Meet Our Certified Professionals:

Anesthesia Machine Servicing Experts

Michelle McConnell graduated from Bel-Rea Institute of Animal Technology in Denver, Colorado in 2002. She obtained her Veterinary Technician Specialty in Anesthesia in 2007 while teaching at Kansas State University. Since 2007, Michelle has worked at specialty animal hospitals in South Florida. She is a member of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America and the Academy of Veterinary Technician Anesthetists. Michelle joined Vetamac in 2011 as a service technician/sales associate in southeast Florida.

Michelle grew up in Michigan but now lives in Florida with her husband, Bryan. She has two daughters, Violet and Brooke, and the best Golden Retriever in the world, Mango. She loves spending time with her family and running—even placing 1st in her age group during a 5k run while 7 months pregnant!

Heidi Lescun, BS, RVT Senior Service Technician/Sales Associate

Heidi Lescun got her BS in Veterinary Technology from North Dakota State University in 1997. She worked as a veterinary technologist at Purdue University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital until 2000, when she moved to Australia for her husband Tim’s job as a veterinarian at a progressive equine hospital. In 2001, she returned to the Purdue VTH to provide anesthesia support and was appointed the supervisor of the anesthesia technicians in 2006. Heidi joined Vetamac in 2015 as service technician/sales associate servicing Northwest and Central Indiana.

Heidi is originally from Wausau, Wisconsin. She’s married to Tim, a native Australian, and they have a daughter, Lili. She enjoys lasagna and 80’s rock, and she and Tim live on a small hobby farm with 3 horse and 3 dogs in Lafayette, Indiana. They enjoy attending Purdue basketball games and traveling and are often found showing horses at the Indiana Quarter Horse Shows.

Photo courtesy of Black Pine Animal Sanctuary

Jared Long, RVT Service Technician/Sales Associate

Jared Long received his Associate Degree in Veterinary Technology from Brown Mackie College in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He first worked as a kennel assistant when he was 15 and now has 15 years in the veterinary field. He has experience with large and small animal primary care as well as small animal emergency and specialty care and was on the surgery team at an emergency and specialty hospital in Fort Wayne, IN for 2 years. In 2005, Jared worked at a mixed animal practice where he became a supervisor. He transitioned to the inventory manager position until coming to Vetamac in February 2016 as a service technician/sales associate servicing Northeast Indiana and Eastern Michigan.

A native of Leo, Indiana, Jared now lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana with his husband, Ryan, and their 3 dogs: Booker (Great Dane), Bentley (Great Pyrenees), and Puck (Golden Retriever Mix). He’s the second youngest of 5 boys, and he praises his kind and selfless mother as his biggest hero. He is known as the “novelist” due to the detailed notes he takes at work. On a typical Friday night, Jared will be at the lake with friends or enjoying a relaxing glass of wine.

Cynthia A. Burns, RVT Service Technician/Sales Associate

Cynthia Burns is a Registered Veterinary Technician with over 20 years of animal clinical care and veterinary sales experience. She graduated from Purdue University in 1989 before working in several hospitals, Midwest Vet Supply, Columbus Serum, and The Butler Company. Cynthia joined Vetamac in 2012. The detail-oriented work gives her a feeling of accomplishment as she ensures that each machine is serviced and safe for a hospital to use.

A native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Cynthia, now resides in Kernersville, North Carolina with her husband of 13 years, Rob, and her 3 cats: Mushi, Tori, and Fancy. She loves Domino’s Pizza, The Serenity Prayer, and relaxing by the fire pit with a glass of wine and holding her granddaughter, Eden.

Kelli Gill graduated from the Bel Rea Institute of Animal Technology in 2002. With 20 years of experience in the veterinary field, she’s worked in a variety of areas with a special interest in anesthesia. She spent the last 8 years in a busy specialty practice in the surgery department providing in-house training seminars and lectures for referring veterinary practices in the Atlanta area, as well as continuing education for the community. Kelli also got her VTS in Anesthesia in 2012. She’s a member of the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society and the Academy of Veterinary Technicians in Anesthesia and Analgesia. Kelli joined Vetamac in 2016 as a service technician and sales associate for the state of Georgia.

A native of Lawrenceville, GA, Kelli is the youngest daughter of 3 and is a wife to a loving husband. She has an 8-year-old pit bull named Olive and 2 orange tabbies, named Nigel and Dexteranne, whom she raised for the last 12 years—since they were 2 days old. Her favorite food is lovingly-prepared spaghetti and meatballs. She also enjoys cooking, relaxing, as well as shooting and fishing.

Ashlie Leirer, LMVT

Ashlie Leirer received her veterinary technician degree from Penn Foster College. Before starting at Vetamac, Ashlie gained valuable skills and experience by working as a veterinary technician and hospital manager in companion animal practices. Passionate about veterinary medicine, Ashlie is eager to teach others about the proper care of anesthetic machines.

Ashlie and her fiancé, Beth Anne, have three dogs (two French Bulldogs named Harper and Dylan, and a Pit Bull mix named Rory). Ashlie’s favorite comfort food is a donut, and she believes the ultimate soul-soothers are music and travel. On a typical Friday evening, you can catch Ashlie watching a movie at home, or out at dinner with her fiancé.

Kelly Mayotte, CVT

Kelly Mayotte graduated from Sanford Brown Institute in Veterinary Technology. She loved her work as a lab animal veterinary technician, but she moved back to Wisconsin and was mostly a stay at home mom. When she heard about Vetamac, she fell in love with the company’s values and came on board.

Kelly grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin and has moved around with her husband, Matt, who was in the Navy. She has 2 older stepsisters and a son, named Owen. She loves snuggling on the couch with her husband and son and drinking coffee on the porch.

Dave GriffithService Technician/Sales Associate

Dave Griffith contributes thirty years of service technician experience to Vetamac. He worked for fifteen years with Henry Schein/Patterson focusing on human dental equipment and the last nine years with Penlon servicing primarily human anesthesia machines and also a few veterinary models.

Dave is a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana but has lived thirty plus years in Redfield, Iowa. Dave and his wife have been married over thirty years. They have two sons, two daughters-in-law, and two grandsons. When Dave is not working he enjoys riding his motorcycles and playing in the swimming pool with the grandsons.

Rick Trexler, RVT

Rick Trexler studied veterinary technology at San Diego Mesa College. He has degrees in liberal arts, biotechnology, and electronics from Johnson County Community College, and he studied zoology and marine biology at Humboldt State University. In addition to being a Registered Veterinary Technician, he’s also a qualified veterinary dental technician (American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians), an ABO certified optician, and a Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician, and has other equipment-specific certifications.

Rick Trexler grew up along the West Coast of the US. He is the youngest of 9 siblings and has a grown daughter who is an artist and an 11-year-old son who enjoys Boy Scouts and playing trombone. Rick likes Mexican food, Italian food, and more specifically, crêpes with either Nutella or crème au citron. He likes Elvis Costello and Bob Marley, and among his heroes is Jacques Cousteau.

Jennifer is a native of Massachusetts and has remained determined to care for animals since a young age. Jennifer attended Becker College and earned an AS in Science, followed by her certification as a veterinary technician (CVT) in 1992. Since then, Jennifer has worked for both specialty and university practices, supervising and teaching technicians and students, and performing anesthesia to a variety of patients. While at Ross University in St Kitts, West Indies, she worked under board-certified anesthesiologists to obtain her certification as a Veterinary Technician Specialist (2005) and later Veterinary Pain Practitioner (2013).

Since, 2005, Jennifer has authored and co-authored book chapters, has lectured both nationally and internationally and more recently, developed a short course for both veterinarians and technicians in Southwest Florida entitled Everyday Anesthesia for the Veterinary Professional.

Jennifer is married to Urnell and has two daughters, Julia and Charlotte. They have Jorge, “the Bayford’s cat” and a newly adopted Pitbull named Archie. When Jen is not working, she enjoys family time and listening to reggae music. She looks forward to visiting the Caribbean whenever possible.

Tom Eden Chief Executive Officer/President

Tom Eden graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering. Tom has owned many businesses since 1986, including Holiday Inn, Aamco Transmissions, and Thrifty Car Rental. He joined Vetamac in 2007 as an advisory board member and, as he says, “I liked the company so much I bought it!”

Tom grew up in Crawfordsville, Indiana as the 2nd born child with 3 sisters. He’s been married to his wife, Tricia, for 32 years and has 2 boys and 2 girls. Tom is a proud follower of Christ, loves hanging out with his wife, and is very proud to own Vetamac because of the people and customers that make this company thrive.

Carla Hufford Business Manager

Carla Hufford received her Associate Degree in Accounting from Ivy Tech Community College. She’s worked in accounting and tax preparation and has 10 years of experience as a Customer Service Representative for a local financial institution. Carla has been with Vetamac since 2004 and oversees the scheduling of service calls, accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, inventory, and marketing activities.

Carla is a native of the Rossville area and lives there today. She’s the oldest of 3 girls and a mother of 3 as well: Bethany, Whitney, and Cory. She loves pizza and Mexican food. On a Friday evening, Carla can be found reading and camping. Staying healthy is important to her so that she and her husband, Brian, can travel when they retire.

Christian BirchBusiness Development Manager

Christian Birchhas a B.S. in Animal Science from Texas A&M University and has held various sales, learning and development, and management positions with Zoetis, formerly Pfizer Animal Health. Christian provides knowledge in the areas of sales and territory management.

Christian is a proud Texas native and often longs for home. She lives with her husband, Chester, and they have been married 16 years and have 2 children, Caty Beth (5) and Colton (2.5). She loves all things TexMex, and she never says no to different pizza flavors and styles. The laughter of her children, all things Texas A&M, and vacationing to livestock shows are what make her happy.

Brian Hufford Manufacturing/Service Specialist

Brian Hufford joined Vetamac in July 2015 as a Manufacturing/Service Specialist. He manages all machining, assembly, and testing of the equipment and products produced by Vetamac. He also handles machine repair and service, including field service, as necessary. Brian has completed courses in the Industrial Maintenance program at Ivy Tech. He worked as an assembly technician for over 21 years for Caterpillar Large Engine Center.

Brian and his wife, Carla, have three children. He enjoys running, deer hunting, and camping.

Thomas EdenHead Vaporizer Technician

Thomas Eden is a graduate of the University of Indianapolis and grew up in Monticello. He gets a great satisfaction out of the problem-solving portion of the job—cleaning and figuring out what’s wrong with a vaporizer and then reassembling it.

Thomas is the oldest of 4 and is married to his wife of 5 years, who works at Purdue University. He has a 2.5-year-old son and a newborn daughter. His favorite food is sirloin steak, but he isn’t so fond of broccoli and cheese. Thomas strives to be the best father he can be and enjoys listening to music and making it, as well as watching stand-up comedy with his wife.

Harry Latshaw, MS, RVT, VTS (Anesthesia)Company Founder, Consultant

Harry Latshaw attended Purdue University where he earned a BS in Animal Science and a Masters in Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology. Harry worked full time as an Anesthesia Technologist in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Purdue for 22 years, winning multiple teaching awards.

Seeing a need for quality service support, Harry, along with his wife, Freida, founded Vetamac in 1990. Since then, the company has become a recognized leader in the industry.

Harry is a member of several professional organizations including the American Veterinary Medical History Society, National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, Indiana Veterinary Technician Association, and the Academy of Veterinary Technician Anesthetists. He continues to give oral presentations at numerous conferences including the Annual Purdue Fall Conference for Veterinary Technicians and the AAHA National Conference. Harry also enjoys returning to his love of teaching by presenting lectures and labs to students currently in the Veterinary Technology Program at Purdue.

Harry retired from the day to day operations in December 2015. He and his wife, Freida, reside in the Rossville, Indiana area.